Lucid Design: Packaging Done Right

This past month one of the hottest topics around the cannabis industry has been the impending rule change that all producers, processors, and retail/medical stores need to comply with OLCC approved packaging and labeling for all products that are on a dispensary shelf starting October 1st. This rule change, coupled with new product launches in the Oregon recreational cannabis market seemingly every month, has got us thinking about the process behind bringing a product to market. From ideas and concepts to an actual prototype in a companies hand, creating a unique product to market to consumers that is also compliant with OLCC rules and regulations is a tough task.

We started browsing dispensary shelves and talking with cannabis business owners to find out what the process looks like, and came to realize that one firm, Lucid Design, has helped implement a lot of the best packages on the market.

The list actually goes on and on to so many products that I personally have been initially drawn to because of their packaging. We decided to catch up with Lucid Design to get better understanding from a company that has been servicing the cannabis industry for over 2 years with packaging, labeling and branding.

wyld gummies.

Wyld edibles boxes and packaging

15 mg wyld edible chocolates

who cartridge packaging

who oil packaging

blaze packs

green cross flower

hugh co2 pen packaging

proper bho

hush packaging

wildfire flower packs

wildfire joints

sucker punches

loaded peanut butter edibles

Odin Packaging

golden packaging - joints and private stash

Golden rebrand

screen-shot-2016-09-15-at-11-20-00-am

Royal Ambrosia shatter & soda

Michael Lindars, Owner and Visionary of Lucid Design, has actually been designing packaging, labeling, and brand identities for over 20 years and has a degree from Art Center College of Design. While working side-by-side with brands like Odin, Who, NW Kinds, Canna Daddy’s, TLC Medical, TJs Organics, Sacred Extracts, Wyld, and Green Cross in the cannabis industry, Lucid’s work now has the daunting task of being approved by the OLCC.

Melissa Sandstrom, Design Director at Lucid, has spent hours on end learning the rules and asking questions to Jamie Dickenson, Packaging and Labeling Specialist for the Recreational Marijuana Program, to the point that Lucid’s recent work for NW Kind was chosen to be the perfect example in presentations that Mrs. Dickenson gives in public forums to showcase how to make complaint packaging.

Lucid Design’s entrance into the cannabis industry came a little over 2 years ago when they were offered an opportunity to take the Golden Xtrx brand and create an identity. In surveying the market at the time, Mr. Lindars saw a lot of the same; poly bags and pill bottles. No brand was thinking outside of the box or trying to differentiate their products from others. While Michael was always pushed to err on the side of caution with corporate clients, he was presented with the praise to think radical and different so that Golden Xtrx could stand out. Lucid went on to create Golden’s first triangle CO2 Cartridge box, Left Coast Connections wooden dispensary lay-out and functional theme, among all the other products that Golden Xtrx brought to market.

Lucid’s process takes a lot of thought and hours of research to come up with the perfect package that is at the same time functional, unique, and compliant. For each brand, Lucid might make 3D models of sometimes 5-10 different concepts. Even after a structural design is created, work is done to ensure that it is sturdy enough to withstand having a product packaged inside for sale. The design firm goes the extra distance to provide brands with packaging that stands out.

At the end of the day, when a brand has a unique identity on a dispensary shelf, it has the ability to stand out and capture a consumers eye before another can. Just recently Lucid was challenged with creating a dispensary concept for TLC Medical in Salem. If you have ever been to this dispensary then you know their concept is state-of-the-art when it comes to repurposing a dispensary showroom.

TLC Dispensary in Salem

TLC Dispensary in Salem Layout 2

Royal Ambrosia display

blaze display

Freya Display

Green Crew Farms Display

CO2 Company Display

Proper Oil Display

Leif Medicinals Display

Golden Xtrx Display

TLC had a huge showroom to fill up, and Mr. Lindars suggested that the store create a feeling similar to that of walking past Macy’s windows in Time Square during Christmas time. Their idea was to give customers the opportunity to praise products, while being guiding in a snake like manner through the dispensary, leading to a check out counter similar to that of a regular retail store. This gives new recreational customers, who don’t necessarily know what to expect from a visit to a dispensary, the ability to walk freely without feeling pressured to immediately have a conversation or be put on the spot to buy when they are unsure. It also allows for the dispensary to showcase the brands that they work with to create a glorified experience for a consumer.

Lucid Design is in the cannabis industry to help brands and dispensaries push the boundary on expectations. Their small and friendly design firm is working with brands of all sizes to elevate the expectations when a customer walks through a dispensary door. We are at such a crossroad in this industry, that to Lucid it is about being able to go above and beyond for those who they work with. With their knowledge of the regulation process and their creative stance, it is a no brainer to give you our vow of confidence that they can get the job done.

You can further look into the work Lucid has done by visiting their website or e-mailing them directly: